Have something strange happen. I have a hm normal size betta. Breed him once, when the fry were first hatched, he ate most of them. They were very week. NONE of them could make it back up to the nest. WQithin a few days, he only had maybe five fry left, yet they never became free swimming. He ate them within the next day or so.

Reconditioned, and got a different female. Spawned yesterday, today, eggs all over the tank. He isn't eating them nor is he placing them back in the nest. the nest seems empty. So, I was wondering, since I cannot get them in the nest, has anyone ever placed the eggs in a container with clean water with a slow current. to keep fungus from growing? Part of me thinks this Dad may be a dud, and I may need to just get rid of him, and possibly the eggs are no good anyway. But think I may give this a try to see how things go.

I don't think I'm gonna fool with these eggs. Something tells me they are bad. I don't believe him to be a "bad Dad" even though I've never had a successful spawn from him. But I am still curious if it would work to try and hatch eggs that way in a situation where they were not in the nest.

Artificial hatching can be done.. but like you said, to me it sounds as if maybe they weren't properly fertilized or something went wacky and he let them go.

If you have to artificially hatch the eggs - just use a small bowl and gently scoop under the nest to collect them all.. remove some water so there is only a little bit of water left, just enough to not evaporate too quickly. IAL will help prevent fungus from growing.. I wouldn't worry about running over over them, tossing and turning most likely won't be good for them.. imagine a chicken egg being rolled with an embryo in there. Eek! I have heard just using the bowl with IAL you can be successful.. may loose a good amount, may not.. but you should still get some to live.

You can try to see if they are viable.. collect them in the bowl, keep them warm and see. If they hatch, they should be fine getting back up on their own in such a small amount of water.

Edit - woops.. had this page opened for a while and didn't refresh it to see the previous post about artificial hatching :P

Yeah, I know about artificial hatching, but they are not in the nest. Maybe only three left in the nest. That is why I was wondering about a low current Just to keep them from sitting on the bottom of the tank. I have taken the male out, and am going to just leave them for a day or sao and see if anything happens. I don't think I'm gonna try breeding him anymore. I've only tried twice, but the first spawn was a bust, and now this. He is a pretty fish. Someone is gonna end up with a beautiful pet!lol

Think I should? The first time, the fry seemed very weak. He ate most of them the day they hatched, then eventually he only had maybe 5, but those never became free swimming and he eventually ate those as well. So I used a different female with him, and now this happened. Maybe I will try him one more time. He is a beautiful fish. I already have a home for him if he turns out to be a dud. My best friend has had her eye on him since the first time she saw him.lol

I don't know what your male is actually like. But I have had my share of lazy males that wouldn't touch his eggs and often the female floats them all over the tank (due to slight breeze). In these cases, I collect them with a spoon and move them to a previously dry bowl filled with 2cm of new clean water (dechlored). It's a big hassle but needs to be done if we want his genetics. . . . IMO this is actually better than if the eggs were in one group which may mold quickly. Scattered eggs have better hatch rate.

Well, I can simply not believe this. I started to empty the spawn tank with the scattered eggs in it today, and low n behold, there were two little fry! Probably the smallest I have ever seen in my life! I do not know how I saw them! I doubt they will make it. But I transferred them to a small container, feed newly hatched bbs, and crossed my fingers. I did not see the slightest movement of wigglers, so really chalked it up to a bust. even turned off the heater, but I keep my fish room pretty warm anyway. So these two are really a surprise! We will see what happens.

This was only his second time spawning. The first time he was maticulous with his eggs, actually moved them from one corner to the opposite the next morning. That is one reason why I don't think this to be a case of bad daddy, and more a genetic problem. The first spawn he ate most the wigglers, and by the second day that they should have been free swimming he only had about 5 left. They never actually became free swimming. They were all very weak from the start. As wigglers, none could make it back to the nest on their own, and very few even attempted. But, I still had to try and hatch them. I didn't remove them like your suggestion (because I didn't see it till now) but I cleaned the tank, and removed any that gave the slightest hint of anything wrong with it. I don't believe these will make it. They too are very very small and weak. But I will do what I can with them. I do believe I am going to give him to my friend for a pet. He will be happy.:)